The US Patent Office has awarded US patent D670,713 to Apple, which describes the look and feel of virtual page turning, or “display screen or portion thereof with animated graphical user interface.” Let’s be honest here for a moment… This is a very wide kind of patent. The act of turning a page from right to left?
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As The Verge points out, this is the kind of patent that protects the look and feel of Apple’s software in a lawsuit, not one which claims ownership of the actual act of turning a page. So even though the patent has been awarded, it can be interpreted in many ways, and you will still be able to turn a page without worrying that you will get a call from Apple’s lawyers.
Not everyone turns a page from the bottom right, which is the mechanism covered in this patent. This is however not the first time the act of turning a page has been registered as a patent. Apple applied for the patent back in December 2011, even though it has been used in its iBooks software since April 2010.
Microsoft applied in 2009 for a similar design, but has not yet been granted this patent. Google was awarded its page-turning application in 2010 as was Samsung.
This patent seems like it has little weight, as the design specifically shows one type of way to turn a page. As far as I can remember I have never turned a page like that. I do it from the top right corner. Maybe I should patent it…
